Wawarsing home buyout program tied to Delaware Aqueduct leaks is progressing

WAWARSING, N.Y. -- Although there have been some glitches implementing two buyout programs for properties flooded by leaks from New York City's Delaware Aqueduct, the first round of purchases is expected to be completed soon.

Ulster County Emergency Services Director Art Snyder said the local administration of the program has been unfairly criticized because efforts to clear property ownership have taken more time than state or city officials expected when setting up the programs.

"The county is trying to step in and do the right thing for these folks," Snyder said. "The (county) executive (Michael Hein) didn't have to become involved in this thing at all, but it didn't seem things were happening too quickly for these people. They even had to initiate lawsuits in some cases against the city of New York, and then (state Sen. John) Bonacic obtained money from the state, but there was no assistance for any personnel to help us administer this program."

A $3.8 million property buyout program was established by the state earlier this year, and the city's Department of Environmental Protection, which operates the aqueduct, later agreed to provide an additional $3.7 million. After criticism that the amount still was not enough, the city in August added another $5.5 million for buyouts and $7 million for extending the Napanoch Water System to include 275 more properties.

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The state buyout program has come under fire because it's based on property owners' incomes, while the city program has drawn objections because it's based on each property's distance from the aqueduct, and there is a 10 percent bonus if owners waive their right to a lawsuit.

Snyder said county officials are trying to make the programs work cooperatively because there are differences in the types of expenses each will pay.

"If you are eligible for both, we might do some of the costs associated with your home, like the appraisal and environmental, out of the state program and maybe even the basic purchase price out of the state program," he said. "But because you are DEP-eligible, we'll pay the 10 percent out of their funding stream."

Snyder said there were 68 applicants for the programs, with county officials working on buyouts for the first 20 properties. He noted that two of the property owners decided not to continue with the program after appraisals were returned.

"We have seven (properties) with clean titles and clean environmental reports," he said. "We will be moving forward with contracts to those people in the near future. With the others, we have been in touch with their attorneys regarding issues with their titles."

Among problems with some of the affected properties are they share right-of-ways and wells with other properties.

"If one person wants to sell and another doesn't, what happens to the water supply? ... It makes it a very difficult situation," Snyder said. "We have other people who live on a private road and their title indicates an easement for road maintenance. We don't want to get into a situation where we're taking up maintenance on a particular road."